Benefits - Why Sports Participation for Girls and Women (page 2)

Founded in 1974 by Billie Jean King, the Foundation works to increase the
participation of girls and women in sports and fitness through education,
grant-giving, recognition and advocacy programs. That's the Foundation
does, but the "why" is most important. Although there is a federal law that
mandates equal participation opportunities for male and female students in
secondary and post secondary institutions of higher education, the real
reason we want equal opportunity for our daughters to play sports is so
they too can derive the psychological, physiological and sociological
benefits of sports participation. Sport has been one of the most important
socio-cultural learning experiences for boys and men for many years. Those
same benefits should be afforded our daughters. It is important for all of
us to know that:

High school girls who play sports are less likely to be involved in an
unwanted pregnancy; more likely to get better grades in school and more
likely to graduate than girls who do not play sports

As little as four hours of exercise a week may reduce a teenage girl's
risk of breast cancer by up to 60%; breast cancer is a disease that
afflicts one out of every eight American women. (Journal of the National
Cancer Institute, 1994)

40% of women over the age of 50 suffers from osteoporosis (brittle
bones). (Osteoporosis, 1996) None of us should want our daughters to
repeat the experiences of generations of women -- our mothers and
grandmothers -- who were not permitted to play sports or encouraged to
participate in weight-bearing exercises that are necessary to
establishing bone mass.

Girls and women who play sports have higher levels of confidence and
self esteem and lower levels of depression

Girls and women who play sports have a more positive body image and
experience higher states of psychological well-being than girls and women
who do not play sports.

Sport is where boys have traditionally learned about teamwork,
goal-setting, the pursuit of excellence in performance and other
achievement-oriented behaviors -- critical skills necessary for success
in the workplace. In an economic environment where the quality of our
children's lives will be dependent on two-income families, our daughters
cannot be less prepared for the highly competitive workplace than our
sons. It is no accident that 80% of the female executives at Fortune 500
companies identified themselves as former "tomboys" - having played
sports.

Women Without Sports Experience Are Disadvantaged in the Work
Setting

The existing American business model is a male model of organizational
structure and human relationships. Males learn the rules of human
organizations and interactions from sport. Sport is one of the most
important socio-cultural learning environments in our society and, until
quite recently, has been reserved for boys and men.

This is not to say that the male model of business or organizations is the
preferred model. In fact, women are bringing new strengths to business and
organizations that are based on their skills in group process, preference
for cooperation models and sensitivity to human needs. Eventually, as women
rise to executive positions, the organizational models of business will
reflect more female characteristics and become androgynous.

Right now however, women who don't know the written and unwritten rules of
sport are at a disadvantage in understanding business models of
organization based on sport. How important is it that our daughters learn
the same rules as our sons? It's critical. The most important of those
rules are:

Teams are chosen based on people's strengths and competencies
rather than who is liked or disliked.
This seems like such a simple concept, yet women have traditionally
learned to pick their friends and emphasize human relationships rather
than skill competencies.

Successful players are skilled in practicing the illusion of
confidence.
Boys are taught at an early age and through their participation in sport
that it is not acceptable to show fear. When you get up to bat or play
any game, it is important to act confident and not to let your teammates
know you are afraid, nervous or have a weakness -- even if you are not
confident. Employees who are skilled at practicing the illusion of
confidence -- calmness under pressure, acting sure of self and abilities,
etc. -- get to play the most important positions and are more likely to
be starters. People who are practicing the illusion of confidence make
everything look easy and don't need constant reinforcement or
support.

Errors are expected of people who are trying to do new things.
The most important thing is never make the same mistake
twice.
Errors are acknowledged immediately by each player and players are
expected to fix their errors and not dwell on them or take criticism of
errors personally. During a game is not the time to have a long
conversation about what you should do or how you might correct an error.
That is something you do during practice before or after the game.

Loyalty to your teammates is very important.
Many women don't understand it when a man who is not doing his job is
protected rather than dismissed. Boys learn from sports that every person
on the team has a role to play. Even the players who sit the bench are
positive forces on the team as long as they are good sports and encourage
teammates who play. Players who are satisfied sitting the bench and
waiting their turn to play are valued because they promote team harmony
by not complaining. Not everyone can be successful players. Few men will
criticize their teammates. They will always promote the strength of their
teammates and not mention weaknesses. Women who don't play sports are
much more critical of each other and much more likely to point out a
teammates' weaknesses if asked to do so. When women do this in business
organizations, they are perceived as disloyal.

This is not to say that we must tolerate incompetence. What is
important is how we do it. If we have an incompetent employee, then
good teammates need to find a position he or she can play or trade that
player to another team. This means that we need to help relocate
employees we no longer wish to keep.

"I will" equals "I can"
Boys playing sports are taught that being "good at a position" is a
function of the will to achieve and working on the basic skills required
for that position. They also learn that you need to play the position in
order to become adept at that position. Thus, boys grow up thinking that
they can achieve anything they commit themselves to achieving. It is not
an inflated ego or an accident that men apply for jobs for which we may
think them underqualified. It is simply that they have been trained to
believe that they "can" meet a new challenge of a new position and can
learn by doing. Women, on the other hand, believe that advancing to a new
position requires certification, classroom training, degrees or something
tangible that says "I am qualified," in addition to being confident that
they can meet the demands of a new position. If they haven't played
sports, they haven't had as much experience with the trial-and-error
method of learning new skills and positions, and are less likely to be as
confident as their male counterparts about trying something new.

In a hierarchical organization, your boss (the head coach)
gives the orders and the employees (players) follow the head coach's
instructions.
Men's organizations are very hierarchical in nature. When playing the
game in the business setting, the coach is all powerful and players
follow orders. If a player has a better idea, he or she gets to the coach
in an informal setting and persuades the coach to consider that idea. The
idea then becomes the coach's idea and is carried into the business
setting.

Women's organizations are more decentralized and collegial. Women are
much more likely to bring a group together, ask everyone to present
their ideas and then come up with an idea or direction that has the
support of the majority of the group. It may be unrealistic to expect
organizations led by men who have been trained in hierarchical
organizations to adopt problem-solving or decision-making models
preferred by women. It may be equally unrealistic to expect your coach
to understand when you speak up to disagree during team meetings.

It is important for our sons and daughters to learn about the
differences in how men and women create different decision-making and
problem-solving organizations, and how to operate successfully in each
environment.

Girls and Women Need Encouragement and Aspirational Role Models

Many people think that girls are not as interested in sport as boys.
Women's Sports Foundation research shows that boys and girls between the
ages of 6 and 9 -- and their parents -- are equally interested in sports
participation. However, by the age of 14, girls drop out of sport at a rate
that is six times greater than boys. Girls and women simply do not receive
the same positive reinforcement about their sports participation. Boys
receive balls, gloves and sports equipment by the age of two. They see
their images on television as sportsmen, they see their photos in the
sports section and know from their parents and friends that they are
expected to play sports.

Even though our daughters are not as likely to be discouraged from playing
sports as they were 10 years ago, they simply aren't encouraged to the same
extent as little boys. As a result, they enter organized sport two years
later than little boys and are therefore less likely to have the skills
necessary for early success experiences. If a child is unskilled, he or she
is unlikely to have fun. It's no fun to strike three times in row. The no.
1 reason why boys and girls play sports is because it's "fun".

We must do a better job of supporting our daughters' sports participation.
For Christmas and birthdays, we must find books about girls in sports, give
gifts of sports equipment and sports lessons. We need to take our sons and
daughters to see women playing sports so they grow up appreciating and
respecting the sports skills of women and so our daughters see images of
themselves excelling in sports -- because she is not going to see those
images on television or in the newspapers. It's no accident that girls'
sports participation in Olympic sports increases significantly following
the Olympic Games, one of the few times that coverage of women's sports is
equal to that of men's sports. Aspirational role models drive youth demand
for sports. This top to bottom synergy has not yet become commonplace in
women's sports because of limited college and professional sports
opportunities and television coverage.

However, the trend is clear: the increased participation and success of
female athletes at the Olympic Games, increased television coverage of
women's college sports, new women's professional sports leagues and the
participation increases of females in all sports and all age levels. "We
ain't seen nothin' yet!"